The present invention relates generally to newspaper vending racks, and more particularly to a microprocessor-controlled coin mechanism allowing the customer to open the vending rack door on payment of the appropriate price of the newspaper.
Newspaper vending racks over the last 20 to 30 years have relied primarily on a simple coin totalizer mechanism that measured the height of a stack of coins within a coin chute to determine whether to release the door of a newspaper vending rack. Because of the number of different combinations of different coins that can be used to accumulate a particular price, and because a measurement of the stacked height gives only limited discrimination between various combinations, the allowable coin combinations for this type of mechanism normally are limited to one or two variations. A 25-cent newspaper, for example, typically can be purchased from this prior art mechanism by inserting a quarter in one of two slots or five nickels in the other slot.
The coin height method sufficed when the price of newspapers was low and depended on only a few coin combinations. However, as newspaper prices have increased, the number of coin combinations available to reach a particular price has increased as well. For instance, there are 10 different possible combinations of nickels, dimes and quarters that total 50 cents. A typical coin height mechanism, however, permits only two different coin combinations, for example, five dimes or two quarters. Thus, as the price increases, the limited flexibility of the coin height mechanism causes greater inconvenience to the purchaser and excludes more and more purchases. A customer with one quarter, two dimes, and a nickel would be unable to purchase a newspaper due to the restrictive nature of the mechanism.
The coin height determination method becomes much more complex and more likely to malfunction when applied to more than two or three coin combinations. It can readily be seen that as newspaper prices get into the 50-cent to 75-cent range for daily editions and $1.25 to $2.50 range for Sunday editions, the stackable coin height mechanism with only two or three allowable coin combinations severely limits a customer's chances of having the combination of coins required to purchase a paper.
There exist improved, fully mechanical coin totalizer mechanisms that allow the use of any combination of nickels, dimes, or quarters to achieve a particular vend price. Because of the greater complexity of such mechanisms, however, they cannot be adapted for use in existing newspaper racks that were developed for simpler coin totalizer mechanisms. The majority of newspaper racks currently in use were designed for a stackable coin height mechanism, as previously described. Although some of the older, existing racks can be adapted to handle the newer, larger mechanical totalizer, the cost of the adaptation is quite significant. Other racks cannot be adapted to the larger mechanical mechanisms and would have to be replaced with entirely new racks.
Also, these more complex mechanical totalizer mechanisms, as currently configured, have some internal limitations as to maximum prices as well as to the allowable spread between daily and Sunday papers. In some cases these limitations can be overcome with adapter kits. However, these are relatively costly and add to the mechanical complexity of the units.
Fully mechanical coin totalizer mechanisms have the further deficiency of frequent malfunctions due to the large number of component parts required in such mechanisms. In addition, because most newspaper vending racks are exposed to the outdoor environment, the mechanism must function in greatly varying weather and contamination conditions. Further, mechanical coin totalizer mechanisms are dedicated to the use of existing United States coins and cannot be adapted readily to new U.S. coins, foreign coins, or tokens.
In addition to existing fully mechanical coin mechanisms, several attempts have been made to develop an electro-mechanical coin mechanism that is controlled by a microprocessor. The Bellatrix Company of Oregon, for example, manufactures a microprocessor-controlled, electro-mechanical coin mechanism that is battery powered and that will operate for one or more years on one set of batteries. The Bellatrix coin mechanism includes a coin slot with internal straight sides to guide coins past four optical sensors. The sensors send signals to a microprocessor, which determines the value of the coin inserted into the newspaper rack. The Bellatrix mechanism, however, can recognize only the current U.S. dime, nickel, and quarter. It cannot be adapted readily to recognize foreign coins or any new U.S. coins that may be minted in the future. Further, the Bellatrix microprocessor-controlled coin mechanism requires a separate hand-held controller to select the vend price as the Sunday price or the daily sale price. This controller communicates with the coin mechanism by infrared optics. Infrared controllers are undesirable due to their frequent failure and difficulty of use.
Electro-mechanical coin mechanisms, such as the mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,633, are particularly sensitive to vibration and bounce in the coin as it travels through the mechanism. Because the manual insertion force cannot be controlled, coins may enter the mechanism at high or low velocity and may bounce around within the mechanism, rendering optical measurements on the coin inaccurate.
Kaspar Wire Works manufactures an electronic coin mechanism similar to the Bellatrix mechanism. The Kaspar mechanism is too large to fit within the current confines of the simpler mechanical coin mechanism and hence requires at least a costly rack conversion.
Still another problem with prior art coin mechanisms used for newspaper vending racks relates to the rigid locking means for preventing a coin return action when door is open. Typically, after the door has been released for opening in response to the insertion of the vend price, the coin return mechanism is locked out, preventing the customer from obtaining a return of the coins should he or she thereafter decide not to purchase the newspaper. In addition, the mechanism for locking out the coin return simply latches the mechanism rigidly in place without disabling the coin return button. Thus, force applied to the coin return button by a disgruntled purchaser is translated directly to the mechanism, causing wear and frequent damage to the mechanism.
Similarly, customers frequently allow the door on a rack to close itself, in which event the heavy spring on the rack door causes the door tongue to slam into the coin mechanism with considerable force. Over time, this causes wear and premature failure of the coin mechanism.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a reliable microprocessor-controlled coin mechanism that is capable of accepting any combination of U.S. or foreign coins or tokens, that can be adapted easily to accommodate coins that may be minted in the future, and that is adapted physically for use in existing newspaper racks that employ a mechanical coin height mechanism, as described above. It would also be desirable to provide a coin mechanism that is well adapted for the normal use and abuse experienced by coin mechanisms in newspaper racks.